Volunteers cannot be substituted for paid staff, their contribution is valuable and valued. Risks are associated with the engagement of volunteers and these must be assessed and managed within the context of modern employment practices. Accountability must lie with the paid member of staff, the responsibility for a task being undertaken cannot be delegated. Volunteers may be delegated to under take a defined task but the responsibility for training, developing and safeguarding the volunteer and the organization must rest with the employee who manages the volunteer.Professional library staff who are trained and familiar with the internal organisational arrangements of the Library Service are essential to ensure that quality and planning of services are complaint with the requirements of DCMS http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/libraries/default.aspxI hope this helpful in progressing this discussion towards better services for our communities in a time of need. Library Services are key to helping people gain access to learning, information and so much more than the borrowing of books, important though this is. I hope greater interest and support of libraries which this campaign has developed may now be used productively to sustain this hope.
Lizzie Saunders, Volunteer Centre Manager ● 5412d